Starting near the display and working around to the front of the computer, pry up on the upper case. It is held with clips on the right above the optical drive. These will release with some firm lifting pressure.

Be careful when prying up the upper case. It's very easy to slice open a fingertip and thus provide the blood sacrifice the Mac gods sometimes require of those who insist on doing their own repairs.

There's a trackpad and keyboard ribbon connecting the upper case to the logic board, so don't pull the upper case off entirely just yet.

If you have trouble getting the clips to release, be careful that you are not prying the plastic top of the upper case away from its metal frame.

Use a spudger to carefully disconnect the microphone cable from the logic board. You'll want to work from side to side, and slowly wiggle the connector out of its socket.

Pulling on this connector vertically will break the socket off the logic board. This connector should be removed horizontally by gently pulling the microphone cable toward the screen while working a spudger between the connector and the socket.

Sometimes when removing the front display bezel, the retaining clips that should remain captive in the LCD brackets come out with the front display bezel. Follow this and the next step to transfer the clips back to the LCD bracket.

Use a metal spudger or another thin tool to carefully pry the gray plastic clips off the tabs molded into the front display bezel. A 0.8mm flat screwdriver may be useful for this step.

Be careful, as the clips are made of thin plastic and are inherently delicate.

Lift up the right side of the clutch cover and guide the display data and iSight cables through the gap in the clutch cover.

Lift the clutch cover out of the display assembly.

During reassembly, make sure not to pinch the backlight cable (with the white connector) when snapping the clutch cover back into place. This cable has two visible wires leading into the lower right section of the LCD display to the backlight. (The models with pink and white wires are usually longer and easier to pinch.)

Make sure you pay attention to how the microphone cable (and antenna cable on some models) are routed around the outside of the two screws nearest to the bottom of the screen (on both left and right). It's easy to damage the cables if not routed properly when putting these screws back on.

This is a difficult project. It is imperative that you read the entire guide before you proceed. Have a system in place to keep track of the screws so you know what goes where. Budget several hours for this.

I found this to be the easiest upgrade I have ever done. New HDD and memory in ten minutes, start to finish. The hardest part was getting the #8 Torx screwdriver. Booted from the OSX disk, formatted the drive, (use the GUID scheme) and we're screaming along.

Brilliant guide from you guys. I tackled a cd drive replacement on my Dad's MacBook a little while ago, but my skills were really tested when I accidentally stood on my laptop - new LCD needed. A visit to Ebay (don't forget duties when importing!), and this LCD Display replacement guide are all I needed. Yes it took a while (2-3 hours), but as long as you remember you need to do everything backwards then it's straightforward. I wouldn't have known where to start without this guide so thanks for creating them.

The guide is fantastic and the Airport Extreme Card upgrade took me less than an hour to complete. It wasn't very difficult. Some pointers: read the entire guide before undertaking the project; keep the screws from each step separated in labeled containers; buy a spludger if you don't already have one; keep a tweezer handy for the tiny screws; and take your time separating the keyboard from the computer so as to not crack/break the plastic bezel.

This is a difficult project. It is imperative that you read the entire guide before you proceed. Have a system in place to keep track of the screws so you know what goes where. Budget several hours for this.

Nonsense! Even a non-technical person could follow this guide and do the job in 15 minutes. Anyone who's done any work on any kind of computer will be able to do this in 5-10 minutes.

This nontechnical person took about two hours to get the optical drive out and stripped down enough to take it apart and look for fragments of a CD. and then reassemble it. I'm sure other people are faster than me, they usually are, but newbees should set aside the time just in case. Also, jonathan55 is right about those screws, keep track of them and the other in which they come out as there are several different lengths.

Extremely useful guide. Just replaced the topcase/trackpad/keyboard assembly in ~15 minutes. I've had a moderate amount of previous experience with computer repairs, but even so, anyone should be able to do this project successfully.

The replacement takes about 10 minutes from start to finish. The longest part is the OS Backup/Restore...

BTW, you might want to know before you begin: if you have a similar size backup hard drive that you originally have in your computer, you should "Restore" the contents of the original hard drive onto it before starting this manual, using the Disk Utility. (Yes it's called Restore. You restore the original to the backup. lol.)

Your other alternative is to get an external enclosure for your SATA Laptop hard drive that has a Firewire port on it.

After the swap, you connect either the backup drive or the original drive in the external enclosure using Firewire, then boot while pressing the Option key. The backup drive will show up (possibly as the only boot option.) (In fact, now that I think about it, you might not even have to press the Option key, since the external drive should be the only boot option unless there is something in your DVD drive...)

Boot to the backup drive, then "Restore" its contents to the new internal hard drive using the Disk Utility. You should be set with your original OS, settings, etc.

Overall I'd say this was easy if you've taken apart any computer-like device before. Total time was a little less than hour for me, and the most difficult part was getting all of the tiny screws back in; fan installation was a breeze.

There is a simpler way of installing the operating system than described in the notes. First do a time machine backup to a new external drive. This will force a total back-up and prevent problems of restoring everything as it was. Follow steps 1-8. Instead of quitting disk utility as described in step 9, go back into disk utility menu and on the very last line you will see the option to restore the operating system and all its files via the time machine option. It was a breeze, and I did not have to deal with steps 10-28

This is a difficult project. It is imperative that you read the entire guide before you proceed. Have a system in place to keep track of the screws so you know what goes where. Budget several hours for this.

I am so grateful for this website! This is the first time I have opened a computer and the instillation is now done, 45 minutes later.

The key, as many others have written is the organization of the screws. It was very helpful for me to print out the individual pictures of the steps to follow. I then laid the screws, as I took them out, on the printed pictures that I placed on a table.

Some of the screws may be different sizes in different 'books. Keeping them separated, or measuring as you remove them, helps. Also, a few of the rubber spacers, etc are not the same in mine as in the photos, and some connectors also differ. I found it helpful to take notes at each Step when they differed from the picture. A guitar pick helps when trying to get the top case free.

This is a difficult project. It is imperative that you read the entire guide before you proceed. Have a system in place to keep track of the screws so you know what goes where. Budget several hours for this.

Not quite sure what this guy is smoking, but he didn't share with the class. The hard drive replacement takes less than 5 minutes and is absolutely within the ability of anyone over the age of 7.

The instructions were excellent and the job of removing & replacing the hard-drive went like clockwork. A novice could handle this task easily with modest mechanical skills. Someone previously suggested putting aside several hours to do this..... I disagree as I replaced the HD & both RAM chips in approx. 10 minutes & I was pacing myself. As far as hardware is concerned, I found a total of 7 screws to deal with! You don't have to be too anal to keep track of 7 screws especially when 3 of them are captive in the memory cover. Unless you are mechanically inept, go ahead and do this simple job!

This is a difficult project. It is imperative that you read the entire guide before you proceed. Have a system in place to keep track of the screws so you know what goes where. Budget several hours for this.

I just finished this installation, and it went very smoothly. Your instructions were excellent, as were your step-by-step pictures. I couldn't be happier....I saved alot of money because of IFixit, and really appreciate it!

Muchas Grazias, i did the steps to replug the isight cable. And its working again. Maybe doing all the steps was a bit overdressed for my problem. My only tool was a knife. Now only two parts aren´t reassemled: a little screw and a magnet. Thanks a lot again, the camera is working again!

This was an easy installation. I am NOT a tech type, just a mom who wants a better hard drive.

I installed the new hard drive into the MacBook and moved the old hard drive into the new housing in less time than it took my husband to put the baby to bed. Yeah, his bedtime routine with her takes longer than mine, but it's still less than half an hour.

I just cleared off part of the dining room table, put down a towel to keep all the parts from rolling around and followed the step-by-step directions provided here. Sooo easy. Almost too easy.

I look forward to my next MacBook repair, and I will absolutely come back to ifixit.com to get the parts and learn how to do it. I'll be here for support on my iPhone and iPods, too.

Just did an LCD replacement on a white old model MacBook. Followed this guide to a the letter. IT WORKS! I'm commenting on my fixed mac now. Excellent guide. Things I would suggest are to read through everything first and keep a note of screws labeling etc. you'll be grateful on the return trip. Also watch the routing of the cables when working on the lcd housing and right hand side of the lower laptop. Not only have I fixed my problem. I've realized that customizing macs and doing your own repairs is relatively straight forward if you follow instructions.

This website really empowers the apple product user. Shop around for parts, ebay is a good place to start. I got my screen for £65 (UK).

Final word take your time and if you are replacing LCD screens expect it to take up to 6 hours.

Also if you are replacing Samsung LCD screen it has a test port (on left back) which most replacements do not. Don't worry about it, it is nothing to do with a Mac.

This is a difficult project. It is imperative that you read the entire guide before you proceed. Have a system in place to keep track of the screws so you know what goes where. Budget several hours for this.

Best way I've found to keep track of the screws is to use an ice cube tray. Just make sure you don't knock it over by mistake ;P

The instructions were more than helpful. Very well written. I just need to be better about following them. It was a easy process, it took me about 20 minutes all together. The only thing I ran across it was putting the keyboard back in place. Make sure it's all line up before you start putting screws back in place.

Thanks a lot for this guide. It would have been much more difficult without knowing what to do.

When I was done, the LCD backlight flickered somewhat occasionally. The owner said that had not happened before. I cleaned the LCD plug by blowing with a straw into it but the flickering still happened. Dunno if this was related to my work.

One note on the fan replacement, or really any MacBook repairs. If you fire your MacBook up and nothing happens but the sleep light is blinking then make sure your memory is seated correctly. I freaked out after installing my new fan but it turns out that all I needed to do was reseat the memory.

Jonathon55 was referring to the whole pram replacement. I tore apart an ibook years ago and it had less steps then this and I am quite technically adept. Going to pay for apple store to replace, not going to waste half a day doing.

Thank you for this guide. I appreciate the time you took to photograph this and document it.

Don't take notice of the I did it in 10 minutes brigade, replacing the HDd might take 10 minutes but the other jobs will take longer.

Also those that are dissing the author re screws etc. The screws are different lengths. Take the commentators hint and use an ice cube tray, label it 1, 2, 3, .... and put the screws in there. THe difference if 1-2 mm is enough to have a slightly long screw go through a component and kill it.

I found the Phillips #000 screwdriver better suited to this task. Additionally there is an issue with scredriver clearance in the battery compartment. You need a stubby screwdriver or something short to get a good angle on the screws.

While many guides here are good, this one is way more complex than needed. You can replace the inverter very easily by prising off the plastic bezel around the display, removing the three screws from the hinge cover, then prising off the hinge cover to expose the inverter. That is all that is needed.

Danger Will Robinson!! My upper case did NOT want to come out on the right side. I just trusted to cameronmoll and kept lifting straight up. Finally, it came loose, but it wasn't easy. Meanwhile, while I was dealing with the cable -- just had to pull up a black tab hooked to it -- I somehow managed to chip the front, top edge of the upper case -- the edge farthest from the screen -- in two places, one on the right, one on the left. So, watch that edge, it is thin!

Regarding the right side, there is a series of 3-4 plastic snap in locks on that side along the optical drive, holding the case down in lieu of screws. It takes serious pressure to remove the snapped in pieces (just lift straight up). You should also make sure to line them up when you put the casing back on. Another picture might help show that portion better

My upper case also came off with a little difficulty. There are some plastic tabs that hold the case down (4 of them). They sorta "pinch" onto 4 little bars that are part of the upper case (note, the bars appear to be metal). I worked my upper case to the left a little and it came out easier. One of the these tabs was really tight. Note: if you do this, one or more of the tabs may stay on the upper case, you'll need to move them back in place before putting the upper case back on (pry it off the upper case with a spudger, or very carefully with a flat screwdriver as to not damage it). It will slide back into a slot on the body.

Regarding the right side, there is a series of 3-4 plastic snap in locks on that side along the optical drive, holding the case down in lieu of screws. It takes serious pressure to remove the snapped in pieces (just lift straight up). You should also make sure to line them up when you put the casing back on. Another picture might help show that portion better

Regarding the right side, I found that the 4 clips slide to the left more easily that pull out. However, the front right has a bar which drops into a slots preventing pulling to the left! So ... gently lift the front right (furthest from the screen), pressing just at the front end of the optical slot to bend the faceplate at that point, then gently rock the face plate back and forwards while pulling left, so the that the four clips slide out of their retainers - presto! Remember to bend the faceplate to reassemble.

Step 11 really needs a better description. I started undoing the tape that holds the case above the optical drive slot to the metal before I read the comments and realized what I needed to do. Once you start to pull the top case up from the front, you'll reveal enough of an opening to get a spudger all the way under the metal portion of the top case next to the first snap. Once you have the spudger in, it's easy to release the snap without worrying about bending the whole topcase. Just repeat for the remaining three snaps. Once I got this technique down, it really didn't feel like I was doing anything that might damage the case.

I recently replaced the inverter cable. Now the power button doesn't work anymore.. but the keyboard and trackpad still do work. I already replaced the uppercase cable with no success. Does somebody have an answer to this problem?

There are 4 plastic locks on the right side which prevent the keyboard from lifting up. They slide out easily if the keyboard is moved to the left. To move the keyboard to the left you first have to release the left and front side. On the left and front side there are metal strips that are snapped in. They should release when you push the metal strips with a spudger towards the center of the computer. We had much trouble releasing one metal snap as we didn't know how to do it.

When you reinstall the keyboard put the plastic bars in the frame at the right side of the case, then snap in the keyboard on the left and front side and finally snap the keyboard into the plastic snaps to the right. Be careful so they don't fall out before you snap them in.

A metal piece fell out of the computer. It was a shielding of a connector on the left side.

A tiny plastic disc (4 mm diameter) with a hole in the middle also fell out. I had little hope to find out where it belonged and it didn't seem too important, so I left it, but kept it in a minigrip bag. Does anyone know what it's for?

There are four plastic clips above the CD slot that may come off or stay attached to the uppercase. On reassembly remove them from the upper case and locate the clips into the slots in the frame inside the lower case before lowering the upper case down into position.

I'd suggest being careful and perhaps having help with step 12, as I have broken the connector piece at the end of the cable by pulling too hard/fast and having the connector stuck in the board and the ribbon dangling without purpose.

Does anybody know of a good way to repair such a ribbon, or am I stuck buying new upper case units?

An extra picture or warning should be added about this... The same as you, I broke the connector. I didn't even use any force, but the pins got off the cable and now I'm forced into buying a new one. Trying to buy one from ebay as we speak. It might have been due to metal fatigue after 7 years, but it got broken none the less.

The computer serial number and network IDs are on the underside of the top case (visible in the battery compartment.) In order to prevent misidentification in the future (for instance, while on the phone with Apple tech support), I print the info from the old top case on a sticker and affix it over the label on the new top case.

A lot of top case replacements are due to the front edge being broken by the bumpers on the lid of the MacBook. I stick a couple of felt dots on either side of these bumpers to absorb some of the shock when the lid is slapped shut, to prevent damage to the new top case.

I think that one extra picture should be added here. That is to say, the purpose of using the spudger (which I do suggest you should buy so that you don't risk ruining the orange cable), is to unplug a little connection. Basically your are "popping" it open. Had I known this it would have made th4e process feel a little less risky. In any case the mission was successful... Job completed in 45 minutes and my computer has wireless internet once again!!

I've done several of these without removing the optical drive, etc, and just gone directly to replacing the hinges from here.

Agreed! There is no need to remove the optical drive to get the LCD out at this point.You do need to remove the hinge screws and retainers, but just long enough to pop off the plastic cover to expose the inverter. You do need to support the lid assemble a bit while doing this (an extra hand is nice if available) but it only take a second to remove the inverter cover. Then I'd put the hinges partially back together with two screws and proceed with removing the LCD panel from the frame at this point. Saves quite a bit of time and headache not having to remove the optical drive and everything in the remaining steps.

Important thing about this repair is to take your time, moveslowly and be very organized with all your screws and parts. I use a multi-compartment organizer for all my laptop repairs and label each compartment with tape (ie. LCD frame, hinges, Bottom Panel, Inverter cover...) Makes re-assembly easy and no leftover screws in the end!!

While trying to remove the screw with no luck I've though of turning the laptop upside down and use the power of gravity, a small black plastic item fell down and couldn't figure out where is belong (see link)

While trying to remove the screw with no luck I've though of turning the laptop upside down and use the power of gravity, a small black plastic item fell down and couldn't figure out where is belong (see link) http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/566/353... Any one have an idea where this belong to ? Thanks

IT GOES ON THE RIGHT SIDE TO COVER THE DISPLAY CABLE.BY THE RIGHT HINGE.

Replacing the optical drive screw was the hardest step of the entire procedure for me. The eyelet for the screw can't be moved into position until the drive is in place, buried under cables, and in friction against the case. Sliding it into position makes a protrusion that has to be lined up with a little notch in the case at the mouth of the optical drive.

If anyone has tips on making this go smoothly, please add; it took me probably ten minutes of gentle wiggling, removing and replacing and trying again.

When you put the drive back in, there is a sliding bar on the far edge of it (per perspective in photo) that goes into a notch in the computer case. The opposite end of the bar has the hole mount for a screw. So, if you're having trouble lining up that screw hole with the hole in the case, make sure the bar is sliding into place. (It's the drive screw that's covered in cables)

Also mind the plastic grey clips that are on the "chassis". These clips are referenced in step 11 (the 1st bullet point). My clips fell out. I had no idea what they were at first or where they belonged. When sliding out the optical drive, the clips can fall out into the space that was previously occupied by the optical drive. They are easy to slide back into the "frame" of the computer. There are four of these plastic clips.

VERY IMPORTANT!!!! The plug backs out of its jack along the plane of the logic board, away from the front of the computer, toward the screen. YOU DO NOT PULL IT STRAIGHT UP FROM THE BOARD! The photo is ambiguous, and I ended up ripping away from the logic board the jack the microphone cable plugs into. I doubt I'll be able to solder it back on again, so bye-bye internal mic.

Take a good look at where all the cables and wires are routed in the next couple steps! You might even want to take a few pictures. They must be routed exactly the same way going back together. Either stuff will not fit, or you'll get intermittent video.

When you go to replace the bezel, look at the back side and disconnect any of the little snap-on tabs that may not have stayed in the metal bracket around the LCD. On a white MacBook they were grey, about 4mm x 8mm. They work best if you put them into the metal frame separate from the bezel and then snap the bezel into them.

The best way to remove them seemed to be by placing my thumb over one edge (so they didn’t fly off) and prying with a thin, flat screwdriver flat against the bezel tab.

Hello I've seen a video on Youtube where the guy skipped all the previous steps and got to the inverter without taking the screen off. Seems like it saves a lot of time and potential problems, since I have never done anything like this. Does anyone recommend doing it? I see it's more accessible to just try to get to the inverter without taking the screen off first.

A note for anyone panicking because they can't get their front bezel back on:

It is common for the grey clips holding the bezel to the display to come up along with the bezel. If you have ANY grey clips attached to the back of your bezel, in order to replace the bezel you need to first remove the clips from the bezel and reinsert them into the holes in the display panel manually first! Once all of these clips are back in place, the bezel can be reattached.

These clips are very fragile and if you are having this problem odds are you have already severely bent some of them. Check the tiny plastic clasps and if they are squashed down, gently pry them back up with your fingernail. Again these grey clips are very fragile, so use care in reattaching them.

This was a very helpful tip. I made the mistake at first when reading your note, thinking that the gray clips were supposed to be on the bezel, not the display, but quickly corrected that.

For anyone confused, the bezel is the thin plastic part surrounded the display, and the display of course houses the LCD.

Another note:

The easiest way to remove the clips from the bezel is from the side and pry up. To reattach them to the display, put one end of the clip in first, and then use tweezers to poke in the other end of the clip.

Quote from WillyDavidK:

A note for anyone panicking because they can't get their front bezel back on:

It is common for the grey clips holding the bezel to the display to come up along with the bezel. If you have ANY grey clips attached to the back of your bezel, in order to replace the bezel you need to first remove the clips from the bezel and reinsert them into the holes in the display panel manually first! Once all of these clips are back in place, the bezel can be reattached.

These clips are very fragile and if you are having this problem odds are you have already severely bent some of them. Check the tiny plastic clasps and if they are squashed down, gently pry them back up with your fingernail. Again these grey clips are very fragile, so use care in reattaching them.

I found that an easy way to remove the clips from the bezel is to use a plastic knife (knife as in the utensil). Sliding the knife under one of the clip's long sides and prying upwards worked well for me. Thanks MC25 and WillyDavidK for the tips, they worked great!

There are little clips at each end of the clutch cover, and I found it helpful first to lift the clutch cover off the metal rod first, and after that squeeze the cables at each end between the clips, so you can lift the cover off.

Pay attention here. I missed the part about pinching the cable and that's exactly what I did. It helps to pull the video and mic cables tight to fit the clutch cover on. I also had to make sure the pink/white cables were up and out of the way. When I did it correctly, it slid in pretty easily. It would help to really look at how things are arranged when you are taking it apart, too. There's some tabs that interconnect with the plastic sliding things you removed in steps 46-47.

For the re-install, the cables that run along the sides of the LCD display do not follow the entire length of the display on either side. Both the iSight cable and the Airport antenna cables come away from the sides of the display about 3" from the corner where the hinges are. They move to the outside around the aluminum hinge supports. This is important so the cables do not get pinched and the bezel can snap into place.

Finding the correct route for these cables took some head scratching but the end result worked fine. In hindsight some more detailed pictures of the cable positioning when re-installing would be helpful. I also found that previous Apple authorised repairers had lost screws and removed tape, and charged me £400 for the priviledge.

If you're replacing the display then take the time to make sure you've trasfered anything across that you may need. For example there are two sticky foam blocks at the bottom corners. You can see them in the picture above

I was able to successfully complete this guide and go all the way back putting the machine back together with a new LCD from iFixIt. Unfortunately the LCD was DOA. I tried the old broken LCD (it was cracked, but showed some graphics, so I know it worked as it should). Because the repair job was a rush job, I had to get a new LCD from elsewhere and completed it the first time. Needless to say, doing this guide 6 times I learned a lot about this little guy. Bad LCD purchase, but I think I'd still buy from iFixIt again--we just had bad luck with one part here.

It's time to speak out for your right to repair

Dear Minnesotans,

Right now, Minnesota has a chance to pass the first Fair Repair bill in the nation.
We have a chance to guarantee our right to repair electronics—like smartphones, computers, and even farm equipment.
We have a chance to help the environment and stand up for local repair jobs—the corner mom-and-pop repair shops that keep getting squeezed out by manufacturers.

We've been working with local repair companies, non-profit refurbishers, and tech-savvy politicians to come up with a solution. And they've done just that — Minnesota is the first state to consider a Fair Repair Bill.

If you agree with us, find out who represents you in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Tell them you support the bipartisan Fair Repair Bill, HF 1048. Tell them that you believe repair
should be fair, affordable, and accessible.

It's time to speak out for your right to repair

Dear New Yorkers,

Right now, New York has a chance to pass the first Fair Repair bill in
the nation. We have a chance to guarantee our right to repair electronics—like
smartphones, computers, and even farm equipment. We have a chance to help
the environment and stand up for local repair jobs—the corner mom-and-pop
repair shops that keep getting squeezed out by manufacturers.